ObamaCare Reaches Seven Million Enrollment Goal
End of the Age News
By Jim Stigleman
German Ministries Says Putin’s Justifications Similar to Hitlers
On Monday, Germany’s Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, told 50 students he was addressing that Russia’s recent aggression in the Ukraine could be likened to Adolf Hitler’s 1938 promises to protect ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia. While addressing these arguments of Russian President Valdimir Putin, Schaeuble exclaimed, “We know all about that from history…Those are the methods that Hitler used to take over the Sudetenland.” When questioned about Schaeuble’s statement, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in an effort to distance herself from the controversial comments, called the annexation of Crimea a violation of international law stating, “I regard the case of the annexation of Crimea as a standalone case.”
A spokesman for Schaeuble issued this statement, “Minister Schaeuble made clear in an event with students that Russia’s actions in Ukraine violate international laws and he warned of the consequences of a breakdown in state order. He clearly rejected any comparison at all between Russia and the Third Reich.” This is not the first time that Putin’s actions have been likened to Hitler’s. Earlier this year, former U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said, “Now if this all sounds familiar, it’s what Hitler did back in the ’30s.”
Setbacks Aside, ObamaCare Reaches 7 Million Enrollment Goal
In U.S. news… As predicted by experts, a last minute surge has pushed the Affordable Care Act enrollment past the 7 million mark, reaching its targeted goal. Despite many months of setbacks, including a website that wouldn’t work, this last-minute increase in enrollment is viewed as a major victory for this controversial program. White House spokesman, Jay Carney told reporters on Tuesday, “With the remarkable surge in enrollment, 7,041,000 people signed up for health insurance before the midnight deadline yesterday and that doesn’t count the last day surge in signups in more than a dozen states that run their own marketplaces.”
Democrats are hoping that this rally and victory will help change the public’s view of Obamacare and gain them much needed votes in the upcoming November congressional elections. Republicans are hoping to use Obamacare’s unpopularity and failures as voting issues in the upcoming elections. While House of Representatives Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi said Democrats will not shy away from the issue, Speaker of the House, John Boehner reiterated his pledge on Monday to repeal the law.
Abbas Applies for Membership in 15 International Conventions
In Middle East news… In response to Israel’s failure to release several dozen Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shocked everyone involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations on Tuesday by signing applications to join 15 international conventions. If successful in these attempts, Palestinians would gain more leverage at the international level in dealing with Israel. Frustrated Palestinian officials stated that the peace talks had become nothing more than “negotiating about negotiating”.
They also declared that Abbas was no longer obligated not to confront Israel at the United Nations because Israel had failed to release the Palestinian prisoners as promised. The talks were already faltering because of Israeli settlement construction and Israel’s demand to be recognized as a Jewish state and these latest “unhelpful, unilateral actions” by both sides” have complicated U.S Secretary of State, John Kerry’s, efforts to push the failing negotiations into 2015.
I’m Jim Stigleman and this has been today’s ETA News.